Selasa, 06 Maret 2012

A trailer for the upcoming live-action film Another, premiering in Japan
on August 4, 2012. Like the ongoing TV anime serids, the movie is based
on a school horror mystery novel by Yukito Ayatsuji. The story centers
around a school class that has a curse, and the string of unavoidable
deaths that befall the boys and girls in that class. 26 years ago, in a
third-year classroom of a middle school, there was a student named
Misaki. As an honors student who was also good at sports, the charming
girl was popular with her classmates. When she suddenly died, her
classmates decided to carry on as if she was still alive until
graduation. Then, in the spring of 1998, a boy named Kouichi Sakakibara
transfers to that classroom, and he grows suspicious of the fearful
atmosphere in that classroom. In particular, there is a beautiful, aloof
girl named Misaki Mei who wears an eyepatch and is always alone drawing
pictures.

Jumat, 02 Maret 2012

A promotional video has been released for the one-episode spinoff OVA entitled 「Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland」 .
The new project will be bundled with a 40-page picture book. The disc
will also provide available English subtitles — due out July 27th.

Selasa, 28 Februari 2012

While the concept of such an elevator has been
described in science fiction novels, the construction has become
possible after the 1991 discovery of carbon nanotube, a lightweight
material more than 20 times stronger than steel, the company said.

Under the plan announced this week, the
company will build an orbital station at an altitude of 36,000 km, a
final destination for space travelers and housing experimental and
development facilities utilizing the space environment.

A six-car elevator, expected to travel at a speed
of 200 kph, will be capable of carrying 30 people and will take about
seven and a half days to arrive at the orbital station.

According to the company, construction work
will start around 2025. A rocket will be launched to transport two
reeled cables using carbon nanotube and other materials to an altitude
of about 300 km, where a space ship will be assembled.

The space ship will unreel the cables toward
Earth, while continue soaring to the summit of 96,000 km, which is about
one-quarter the distance from Earth to the moon, Obayashi said.

Then the cables will be reinforced from the
ground using elevator cars, which will ascend to the summit. The
reinforcement work will be conducted 510 times, the company said.

The elevator will be powered partly by electricity generated by solar power from space, the company said.

The company at present cannot calculate how
much money would be needed to construct the space elevator and there
would be some hurdles, such as where to build it, said Satomi Katsuyama,
leader of the company's space elevator project.

"But we'd like to realize the project, as it will greatly save on costs for space development in the future," she said.

Minggu, 19 Februari 2012

Animation studio Bones has released an official trailer for the upcoming TV series, ｢Eureka Seven AO｣. Its broadcast is slated to begin on April 12th on MBS.*Synopsis:

The story is set on Okinawa’s isolated island of Iwado,
which has seen a growing movement advocating a return to an autonomous
government. Ao Fukai, a 13-year-old boy with a missing father, lives on
the island with an old doctor named Toshio and is about to enter middle
school. Ao’s mother was taken away a decade ago by unknown individuals.
Naru Arata, Ao’s 13-year-old childhood friend and the story’s heroine,
lives with her father, older sister, and grandmother. She has a “Yuta”
power awakened within her due to an incident when she was young.
A mysterious entity called “Secret” suddenly appears and launches an
attack on the Scub Coral lifeform on the island. Ao launches a certain
military FP called “Nirvash” aboard a Japanese military transport in his
fervent desire to protect the island.

Selasa, 14 Februari 2012

In the November 5th issue of Shūkan Tōyō Keizai, which goes
on sale Monday in Japan, a special report looks at the balancing act
between quality and cost in the Japanese entertainment industry. The
anime section of it breaks down the expenses associated with producing a
TV anime series. So how much does one episode cost to make?

According to an investigation by Media Development Research Institute
Inc., a 30 minute episode of a TV anime in 2010 that totaled 11,000,000
yen (about US $145,214 at the current exchange rate) consisted of the following expenses:

(Note: All US dollar conversions are approximate based on current exchange rate.)

If you suppose an average episode has 5,000 frames, the price per
frame for an in-betweener is 220 yen or just under three bucks, which
apparently is a rate that hasn't really changed much in the past 30
years. Japan Animation Creators Association rep, Osamu Yamasaki,
commented [roughly translated], "30 years ago it was said that one
person would draw 1,000 frames per month, but now if you can do 500,
that's considered good." Under these circumstances, it's no wonder young
animators are having trouble making it in the industry.

The article also has a comment from producer Tomohiko Ishii of Production I.G., whose full CG film 009 RE:CYBORG is coming to theaters
in the fall of next year: "Japanese people like hand-drawn animation.
Realistic CG like they produce in Hollywood doesn't sell in
Japan." Currently CG costs more than hand-drawn animation, but it's
expected in the future that it will be cheaper and faster. The idea is
not to completely do away with hand-drawings, since character design and
CG modeling still have to be done by artists...

Personally, I'm not sure I see how making animation cheaper and
faster addresses the issue of low wages for artists, but our source for
this post, Japanimate, seems to think there is some hope. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Sabtu, 11 Februari 2012

Earlier today, Kadokawa released a 2-minute trailer for the upcoming ｢Strike Witches｣ film. You may find it after the cut.
The movie will premiere in Japanese theatres March 17th.*Synopsis:

In 1945, Yoshika Miyafuji, who lost her witch powers
during the Strike Witches’ last assignment, has been studying to become a
doctor. Shizuka Hattori, one of her cadets in the Imperial Fuso Navy,
then arrives to deliver a message: Yoshika is to be transferred for
study abroad in Europe.

Minggu, 22 Januari 2012

According to Amazon Japan, an OAD of 「Highschool DxD」
will be bundled with the limited edition 13th volume of the original
light novel — to also include different illustrated cover. It is
scheduled to be released September 20th.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261 or H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by House Judiciary Committee Chair RepresentativeLamar S. Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill, if made law, would expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.[2] Presented to the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.[3]
The originally proposed bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who makes the request, the court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites. The bill would make unauthorized streaming
of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in
prison for ten such infringements within six months. The bill also
gives immunity to Internet services that voluntarily take action against
websites dedicated to infringement, while making liable for damages any
copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is
dedicated to infringement.[4]
Proponents of the bill say it protects the intellectual property
market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue, and is necessary to
bolster enforcement of copyright laws, especially against foreign websites.[5]
They cite examples such as Google's $500 million settlement with the
Department of Justice for its role in a scheme to target U.S. consumers
with ads to illegally import prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.[6]
Opponents say that it violates the First Amendment,[7] is Internet censorship,[8] will cripple the Internet,[9] and will threaten whistle-blowing and other free speech actions.[7][10] Opponents have initiated a number of protest actions, including petition drives, boycotts of companies that support the legislation, and planned service blackouts by English Wikipedia and major Internet companies scheduled to coincide with the next Congressional hearing on the matter.
The House Judiciary Committee held hearings on November 16 and December 15, 2011. The Committee was scheduled to continue debate in January 2012,[11]
but on January 17 Chairman Smith said that "[d]ue to the Republican and
Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February."[12]

Jumat, 13 Januari 2012

According to OCN, the first episode of 「Code Geass: Boukoku no Akito」 will be screened at 10 different Japanese theatres this Summer season. The new project was first announced on April 22nd, 2010.*Trailer:*Synopsis:

The story takes place in Europe in the year a.t.b. 2017. A
Knightmare unit made of boys and girls from Zone Eleven are thrown into
a military operation with a 5% chance of survival. They must rescue an
allied unit left behind on the European warfront.

Minggu, 08 Januari 2012

The most famous Servant of the Fate franchise is now sculpted into this
fine and very detailed figure. Based on one of the scenes from the
popular light novel and newly animated TV series, Fate/Zero, comes Saber
equipped with a Yamaha V-MAX motorcycle with armor attachments. ­

See those fine details on her tire?

She wields the most famous sword of legend, Excalibur.

Now that's a bike I wouldn't dare mess with!

Just look at the paint of that armor!

Instead of a head light, she have a shark-looking thing over there!

Her features maintain the girlishness that makes the king of knights so impressive.

Her piercing gaze is as straight as an arrow!

The details on the engine makes you appreciate the hard work they've put into this.

This is the illustration in which the sculpture was modeled from.

Sculpted by Takayuki Kawahara and manufactured by Good Smile Company.
This pre-painted 1/8th scale PVC figure measures approximately 160mm in
height and 290mm in length. It will be released this coming May 2012 so
preorder now before they run out..